Not the Jewelry and Chocolate Type
by AniDragon aka Riona-chan
Summary: RonHermione fic, 7th year. Written for a Valentine's Day challenge. Exactly a month after Valentine's day, Hermione starts to think that she expects more from Ron than she should.


**Not the Jewelry and Chocolate Type**

**By: AniDragon, aka Riona-chan**

She should have known he wouldn't clue in.

Honestly, it didn't surprise Hermione on March 14th when she didn't receive anything. After all, the only reason _she_ knew about White Day was because her Muggle Studies class had mentioned it back in third year. It wasn't even a British holiday, let alone a wizarding one, so how was _Ron_ supposed to know anything about it?

"Because I told him about it," She whispered the answer to herself, her face buried in her Arithmancy book.

"Did you say something?" Ron asked, and she glanced over the top of the book to see him sitting across from her. The common room was nearly empty, and—she now noticed—rather quiet.

"Nothing important," She answered, returning her attention, supposedly, to her book.

It wasn't as if it was a difficult concept. A girl would give chocolates to the boy she fancied on Valentine's Day, and if her returned her feelings, he'd get her a gift on White Day, which was exactly a month later.

She'd told Ron about the holiday on their last Hogsmead visit, which had fallen a few days after Valentine's Day, and had made sure to give him plenty of time to shop by himself afterwards. How in the world had he not clued in about it?

"Stupid," She muttered, drawing Ron's attention again.

"Hey, now, don't say that," He exclaimed, misreading her comment completely, "You're the brightest witch I know… Probably the brightest in the world, actually. Don't call yourself stupid just because your having trouble with the hardest subject this school has to offer."

She had to chuckle at that. He might not be brightest lantern in the tool shed, but he could at least brighten her day at the oddest times.

"I don't know why you even bother with Arithmancy, though," He continued, "I mean, they'll be toning down our NEWT exams anyway, right? Because of, you know…"

Hermione frowned at that comment, lowering her book slightly and her eyes focusing on an unknown point.

Hogwarts had stayed open for their seventh year, though so far it wasn't the same at all as it was in previous years. McGonagle did her best, but really, with Dumbledore gone, the school was falling apart. As Ron had mentioned, the exams had been toned down considerably to compensate for the fact that most students were barely in the state of mind to study, let alone be tested for it. Some of them hadn't even returned to school…

"Are you worried?" She asked him after a short pause, "About Harry, I mean…"

Harry was among those who hadn't returned, due to his search for the Horcruxes. Though Hermione and Ron had joined them during his search over the summer, he had 'neglected' to mention where he would be, lately. He didn't want them in danger, and he used the excuse of wanting them to finish their education to keep them out of it.

"Of course I'm worried," Ron replied, shaking his head, "He's my best mate. I know he has to do this stuff, but that doesn't mean I want him out there risking his life for it. I should be out there with him."

"I know how you feel," Hermione whispered as she closed her book and placed it back on the table, "I don't want either of you in danger, but if you need to be, I want to be by your side to help…" She shook her head, "We always worked best as a team."

She suddenly felt _very_ bad for even expecting a White Day gift from Ron. Honestly, he had bigger worries on his mind than indulging her, and here she was expecting him to be romantic? He didn't have a shred of a romance gene in him _before_ their world went crazy, how could she expect him to develop one now?

"But, I mean…" His head was scrunched up in thought, "He doesn't want us to worry, or to go after him. It's why he didn't tell us where he was going. I think he wants us to have a semblance of a normal life."

She had a let out a laugh, "When have our lives been normal?"

Ron cracked a smile at that, "I suppose your right."

Stretching out her arms, Hermione glanced outside and noticed how dark it had become, "It's getting pretty late. We should probably head up to our dormitories."

He nodded, picking up the books he'd scattered on the table.

Having been more organized than him, Hermione only had a couple of books to pick up before she began to head up to her dormitory.

"Hey, Hermione, wait!" Ron called out, stopping her in her tracks, "Erm… What's the date today?"

"March 14th," She answered tiredly.

He nodded, then slung his bag over his shoulder and headed for the boys staircases. He stopped at the bottom of them and turned back towards her, his face red, "I… um… I couldn't really find anything that I thought you'd like…"

Hermione blinked, quite obviously shocked at what he was implying, "You mean… You remember that silly White Day thing I told you about?"

"It wasn't silly," He argued, "It's a clever holiday, actually. I like it. And…"

The red in his face darkened, and instead of finishing his sentence, he ran over and placed something in her hand, then turned and headed up the staircases before she could reply.

She opened her hand to find a small wristwatch, which looked as if it was modeled after Mrs. Weasley's kitchen clock, with a few customizations. The three hands had Ron's, Harry's and her name on it. Ron's and her arrows were both pointing to 'at school', while Harry's was pointing to 'Horcrux search (safe)'.

A brief note was attached, reading:

_You didn't seem like the jewelry and chocolate type, so I though that you might enjoy something a bit more practical._

_Yours,_

_Ron_

She smiled, donning the watch. She'd looked up these sorts of clocks after seeing Mrs. Weasley's, and they weren't easy to make. Ron must have worked hard on it.

She'd have to thank him for it in the morning.

For now, though, she was tired. Not only that, but she was looking forward to having a peaceful night's rest now that she knew that her best friends were both safe.

**End**


End file.
